Dennis Scott: Still Feel Like A Kid

Fred Rogers famously said, “The child is in me still… and sometimes not so still.”

The same can surely be said for Grammy Winning Songwriter, Producer and Performer, Dennis Scott.

Dennis began his career as a seven-year-old Broadway actor, before touring with the ensemble folk group, The New Christy Minstrels. His novelty tune “Captain Kirk’s Disco Trek” led to his first Grammy for “Sesame Country,” followed by music director gigs for kids’ shows like “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” “The Magic School Bus” and “Sesame Street Live.”

His dual collections of classics culled from the Fred Rogers’ songbook, “Thank You for Being You,” and the Grammy-winning, “Songs from the Neighborhood,” feature talent as diverse as Amy Grant, Donna Summer, Roberta Flack, Kelly Pickler and Vanessa Williams.

These days, Dennis is leading the charge to get Fred Rogers inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. 

“Fred was a craftsman who really knew what he was doing,” Dennis says. “He does such clever things like how he interwove lyrics to connect to the next words. Plus his chord choices and his accompaniment!”

“He really is one of the great American songwriters.”

From his childhood in Queens to his Broadway debut alongside Elaine Stritch on Broadway, to his storied tenure in Nashville, Dennis is a grown man – a dad! – whose inner child is, as you’ll hear – very much in him still… and sometimes not so still.

“I still feel like I’m a kid,” he explains. “There’s just a part of me that never wants to grow up!”